A fresh start at the Baku Street Circuit
The twelfth round of the FIA Formula 2 Championship will take place next weekend on the fast and challenging Baku urban track. Having bid farewell to the Temple of Speed in Monza, the series has concluded its European season to face the final stretch of the calendar, with stops in Asia and the Middle East. Trident Motorsport will face the challenge in Azerbaijan with a new lineup.
By mutual agreement, the Ossona-based team and drivers Sami Meguetounif and Max Esterson have ended their relationship. Trident Motorsport welcomes Martinius Stenshorne and Laurens Van Hoepen into its ranks, both making their debut in the category after having just concluded the FIA Formula 3 Championship season.
Nineteen-year-old Norwegian Martinius Stenshorne, part of the McLaren Driver Development Programme, has achieved three wins and seven podiums in the FIA F.3 this year. As for Laurens Van Hoepen, a 20-year-old from Rotterdam, he has five podiums and a pole position in the same championship.
The Baku track is famous for its long 2.2 km straight, which offers overtaking opportunities. At the same time, the urban nature of the track sees drivers run close to the crash walls, such as in section around the Castle, one of the slowest parts of the track. Since the Baku circuit is new to both Trident Motorsport drivers, a full practice session will be needed to allow the promising drivers to best prepare for their debut in the category.
Giacomo Ricci, Team Manager: “Next weekend at Baku, we will have the challenging task of bringing Laurens van Hoepen and Martinius Stenshorne to their FIA Formula 2 Championship debut. They are top-level drivers with excellent skills, and have demonstrated, both this year and in previous years, that they are front-runners. Making their debut in Baku will certainly be a huge challenge for both of them, as neither of them are familiar with the Formula 2 car or the circuit. We are extremely focused on preparing for the event and are optimistic about the results we can achieve.”
The engines of the FIA Formula 2 Championship cars will start on Friday at 10:00 a.m., with the 45-minute free practice session. Qualifying will take place that same day, starting at 2:00 p.m. The Sprint Race will be on Saturday at 2:15 p.m. The Feature Race, which will conclude the weekend, will start on Sunday at 11:00 a.m. All times are in local time (GMT +4). All track action will be broadcast live on Sky Sport F1.